Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Page 56
Page 57
Page 58
Page 59
Page 60
Page 61
Page 62
Page 63
Page 64
Page 65
Page 66
Page 67
Page 68
Page 69
Page 70
Page 71
Page 72
Page 73
Page 74
Page 75
Page 76
Page 77
Page 78
Page 79
Page 80
Page 81
Page 82
Page 83
Page 84
Page 85
Page 86
Page 87
Page 88
Page 89
Page 90
Page 91
Page 92
Page 93
Page 94
Page 95
Page 96
Page 97
Page 98
Page 99
Page 100
PeoPle 32 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine Courtesyoftheuniversityofsouthernmaine W hat a horror show. Students and faculty were demonstrating. USM seemed to be self-destructing. Then Glenn Cummings was appointed pres- ident and in short weeks a complete rever- sal has taken place amid an atmosphere of eerie calm. Next stop unbridled optimism. Who is this guy and is he for real My brother and I were the first in our family to get four-year degrees Cummings says. But my grandmother got her two-year degree in teaching at the Maine Normal School in Gorham which is now the Uni- versity of Southern Maine campus. Cummings was inspired to follow a sim- ilar path. In the course of his career he has served on the Maine Joint Committee of Ed- ucation and Cultural Affairs as an assistant professor of educational leadership at the University of Southern Maine as president and executive director of the Good Will- Hinckley organization and as deputy assis- tant secretary within the U.S. Department of Education under President Obama. He also served eight years in the Maine legisla- ture including two as Speaker of the House before he term-limited out in 2008. A con- summate academic he has a BA from Ohio Wesleyan an MA from Brown a masters in public administration from Harvards Ken- nedy School and a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania. Cummings stepped into his role as USM president in July. This followed a year of sig- nificant budget cuts resulting in faculty layoffs and program cancellationsan unenviable starting point for new leadership. According to the Press Herald Cummings arrived to a 13percentenrollmentslumpora2.5million shortfall. But just before Labor Day enroll- ment was down just seven percent. In terms of strategy first you have to ac- knowledge those last few years as being diffi- cult and acknowledge that pain Cummings says. Then you can look at where you are to- day and position yourself for the future you want. We set high goals for ourselves be- cause I think our assets are extremely strong. The City of Portland is certainly an asset but not our central assetthats our people par- ticularly faculty who create the experience for the students. The end gamepart of an integral five-year plan for the universityis to create an environ- ment where students feel welcome known and appreciated by all their faculty and the staff. Cummings is also working to improve retentionandincreasealumnigiving. Cummings also has community and pro- fessional support goals for the future of the university. The schools strong and grow- ing community engagement program places students in professional settings in Portland. We want experiences for students in the real world to be contributing to resolving our re- gionsproblemsandchallenges.Atsametime students are able to learn skills like problem solving communication and executive func- tionthings that are essential and hard to teach in the classroom. The new administration team under- stands USM understands Maine and has deep respect for our faculty and staff he says. I think that sets context for future success for students and the university. The pragmatic aspect to this is that if we are con- servative about expenditures and bold about increasing support and commitment to stu- dents and student success then our univer- sity will begin to thrive again. by Jeanee DuDley per year. My students read deeply and wide- ly across many genres. They become avid ha- bitual critical readers. The whole emphasis on kids and teachers being engaged in what theyre doing has been lost to this set of stan- dards with no research basis. As someone whoreadsandconductsliteracyresearchthis is especially upsetting because its contradict- ed everything that good teachers know about how to help kids become literate in the richest sense of the word. Atwell came under criticism in March for remarks she made to CNN advising peo- ple who want to teach to seek an alternate course. Ill say the same thing again she says. There is an alternative audience for methods that invite kids to engage as real writers and readers. Her best-selling book In The Middle Heinemann 1989 explores research-based educational methods and has sold more than 5 million copies. To new teachers I say look for pub- lic schools where administrators are en- lightened and will support teacher autono- my and research-based methods she says. Or seek out independent school experienc- es. Although were on the fringe geographi- cally here in Maine the work Im doing has had broad mainstream acceptance. Atwell has chosen to apply her winnings from the Global Teacher Prize directly to her school. Were not doing anything extrava- gantwere a nonprofit operating in the red for all time she says. The Varkey Foun- dation which awarded the prize is writing checks directly to the Center for Teaching and Learning which we are using to replace our boilers and some old carpet and to fund tuition assistance. The award ensures the continued oper- ation of the Center for the next 10 years an institution that will stay in Maine. My husband and I moved here from Buffalo in 1975 and it has been wonderful she says. Maine is a great place to be an innovatorit seems to invite it. Maineisagreat placetobean innovator.Itseems toinviteit. 5Glenn Cummings USM President Portland